What should patients think about when they are considering a stem cell therapy? Going to a for-profit, unproven stem cell clinic is particularly risky and raises more questions. Patient guide to stem cell therapies For better or worse, I am in the unique position of being a stem cell scientist and also a former cancer […]
What is stem cell therapy? Read More »
It was only a few weeks ago that I reported that the federal government would very soon be taking more legal action against purveyors of dubious, potentially illegal stem cell treatments that might even be called a stem cell scam. Here’s the first of what is likely to be many more actions. Many media outlets
Doctor indicted in Vegas for alleged fake stem cell scam Read More »
It is nice to be back home, but I really enjoyed the World Stem Cell Summit. It was an energizing, inspiring meeting. There was a huge amount of information presented including new ideas and challenges to the existing paradigms. I’ve condensed it down for you. Below I list and briefly discuss what I thought were
7 key take home action items from the World Stem Cell Summit 2011 Read More »
Periodically we do updates on the iPS cell field and now seems like a good time. Where do things stand? Here’s my top 5 list of action items for the iPS cell field in the coming year. 5.) Methods on the brain. A significant fraction, some would argue too high a fraction, of iPS cell papers
Top 5 iPS cell action items Read More »
Periodically we do updates on the iPS cell field and now seems like a good time. Where do things stand? Here’s my top 5 list of action items for the iPS cell field in the coming year. 5.) Methods on the brain. A significant fraction, some would argue too high a fraction, of iPS cell
Key iPS cell action items Read More »
The Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry, an opponent of Embryonic Stem (ES) cell research, has reportedly undergone an experimental procedure on his spine involving autologous transplantation of adult stem cells taken from his hip. The procedure, which is not FDA approved and costs tens of thousands of dollars, has no proven track record of success
Tex Guv Rick Perry Gets Stem Cell Treatment: what if ES cells were his only hope? Read More »
The Susan G. Komen Foundation is an awesome organization. It has raised nearly $2 billion dollars in less than 2 decades for breast cancer research. It also has a variety of educational programs. This is an organization that has likely saved hundreds of women’s lives and I think will save thousands of lives through its
Trying to understand the Catholic ban on the Komen Charity Read More »
Stem Cell Tourism is a blanket term now used to refer to patients receiving non-FDA approved stem cell treatments either by traveling here within the U.S. or more often outside the U.S. Clinics are sprouting up all over the world offering treatments based on stem cells. The science behind these is often non-existent. Most stem
Stem cell tourism disaster coming: my case for caution Read More »
What will we define as a success for any given stem cell biotech like ViaCyte? In academia, even if we do pre-clinical, translational kind of biomedical sciences, we still do not often think about what it takes to succeed in industry. Even if we very much want our research to make a difference for patients,
There has been a lot of publicity about the reported stem cell treatment of NY Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon. According to several sources, Colon received his treatment in his native Dominican Republic. Major League Baseball reportedly seems most concerned about this case, at least publicly, because human growth hormone (hGH) might have been used in
Stem cell sports medicine: Bartolo Colon Read More »